DVR Owners Don’t Zap TV Ads For Upcoming Movies: Study

TV advertisers become depressed when the conversation turns to DVRs, which give viewers the power to record shows and then speed through the commercials. But movie theaters and studios have less to fear than just about everyone else according to a new online survey of 1,500 moviegoers by Worldwide Motion Picture Group. In the industry’s target audience — people from 13-to-64 who attend at least six films a year – DVR owners are just as likely to watch a movie ad as are non-DVR owners, the research group found. About half of DVR owners watch shows live, and another 25% record shows and still watch movie ads. As a result, the total is “not statistically different from people who don’t have DVRs” who often avoid commercials by doing other things, says WMPG chief Vincent Bruzzese. “The frantic rumors about the declining efficacy of advertising for movies is overblown.” Some 87% of the DVR owners said that they stop to watch an ad for an upcoming theatrical release. By contrast 65% watch commercials for upcoming television shows, 52% do so for consumer electronics, 47% for video games, 39% for food products, and 23% for cars. Still, Bruzzese says that studios should launch ad campaigns earlier than they typically do: With the proliferation of Web sites catering to movie fans, ticket buyers are making decisions weeks before a film opens — often before the TV ads begin to run. “There’s a lot of information out there that’s outside their control and is reducing the number of people that marketing can impact,” he says.